If you are still in awe with our first Durga Puja Look we styled in last post  lets bring on yet again another favorite of ours. For the mornings when you walk down to the pandals for a pushpanjali or the evenings you want to sit and enjoy the arati and sit for hours in adda with friends....the most classic, and stylish version of yourself. Bangali and Bangali's Durga Puja are incomplete without a silk and a dhakai. As we have already styled a traditional silk in our previous post its turn for the Dhakai now.

Draping the most gorgeous and traditional Dhakai Jamdani available in the market. It has the age old saw or korat motif weaved very densely all over the body. The color is most unusual...a wine or a garnet shade with bright orange work and golden zari meenakari on it. On my customary trip to Sriniketan , saw this saree draped on a mannequin in the front door and I JUST HAD TO BUY IT. They didn't have a second piece so I had to rob off the saree from the mannequin.

Now comes the most interesting part of the look, the contrast olive green blouse. Those who have previously read my posts know that  I love experimenting with mismatch blouses but this blouse was a find for me.There are flood of blouses with back embroideries in the market now, but this stroked an odd chord with me. I saw this blouse with back embroidery resembling the poster of the classic Satyajit Ray movie Charulata on a Facebook owners profile and again JUST HAD TO BUY IT. I have been an eternal fan of Ray's Charulata, The intelligent, sensitive and strong character of Charulata fascinates me everytime. Her discovery of herself and her emotional turmoil is ever so relevant. Thus this blouse holds a special place in my wardrobe now. Matched this with this favorite Jamdani of mine.

 

I kept the look very easy-to-go with light makeup, a small bindi and silver jhumkas. Its comfortable and wearable for long hours of addas with friends. If you wish you can glam up a little more with flowers in your hair and a heavy silver neck-piece. 

Its one of our favorite looks this season. If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

Come the first few weeks of September, the heart of a Bong thumps faster, it is nothing but in anticipation of homecoming of goddess Durga – that is Durga Puja. It won’t be entirely an exaggeration to say that Bengalis world over spend a significant amount of their time planning and deciding what to wear during the Durga Pujas. Most of them wear multiple sets of clothes – mind you, there’s a morning outfit and an evening outfit, plus emergency backup outfits😄😄😄. Like every year we have dedicated a special series to the Durga Puja Lookbook that will tell you in great details which avatar you should put on yourself this Navratri.  These three looks that we have conceptualized, styled and donned will inspire you how to style yourself on Shaptami,  Ashtami and finally on the Navami. So make sure you are subscribing to this blog so as not to miss the Durga Puja Lookbook blogposts which will be published one after another all throughout following weeks.

The first look of the series is all traditional in the classic color combination of yellow and red. Its a rich swarnachuri saree that has been a priceless addition to my closet. The border and the anchal has intricately woven motifs of a dancer with meenakari work along with peacock motif buta in the body. Its absolutely mind blowing master piece.

I got hold of this stunning Benarasi fabric last winter from Heritage Shop in City Center II, Kolkata and immediately thought it to be the perfect match with this swarnachuri saree. The saree has its own red plain blouse with the border woven on the sleeves. But I thought a more rich blouse would look more gorgeous given the saree only has lighter work in the body. Thus you can completely mix and match different blouse options with your traditional saree to make it suit the time and ambiance you're wearing it in.  

As for the accessories, the mango yellow color of the saree was screaming for some marigold in the hair. I loosely tied my tresses in a messy bun and styled them with some strings of marigold. Thus it was effortless and yet oozing out glamour. The plan was to have a quintessential traditional look thus there can be no alternative to gold jewelry. Kept it light with a sleek gold bib necklace. Lastly the big red tip or bindi and kohl eyes did the final magic with this whole look.

I hope you found some inspiration on how to drape your timeless traditional weaves and be the starlet of the Puja. Your purchase may provide bread and butter for the extraordinary weavers who create such art with fabric. So this season go traditional and empower our own classic sarees.

If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.

What I wore:
Saree: Adi Mohini Mohan Kanjilal, College Street, Kolkata, India
Blouse: Heritage, City Center II, Kolkata 

Jewelry: Rupashree Jewellers , Kolkata

Styling  and Makeup yours truely Sanchita

Getting ready in tropical summers is equivalent to mastering rocket science. Thus sarees take a back seat in our wardrobes...but hey!! how about those ethnic functions you have to attend. You surely don't want to turn up in jeans and tee....and what if you are a sareeholic like us...can you avoid the six yards just because its hot outside! Albeit not...Fabrics like cotton, linen and mul are your god send to save you from the heat. Thus here's a post on how to look cool and be comfortable in a Khadi cotton and not to melt away in a saree.

Wearing this red and white khadi cotton saree which has this beautiful stripe weaves all along. Am told by the seller that its called a "jharna" or waterfall weave saree. It has a contrast green anchal and blouse. The pom pom in the border and anchal adds a cute dimension to the saree. I designed the blouse to be a boat collared one with blue piping and show buttons at the back. It adds a stylish angle to the simple outfit.

Paired a wooden tribal neckpiece with the saree. As the saree was very light and simple, the heavy jewelry kept a nice balance. But if you want you can totally do without heavy jewelry to beat the heat. I did put a bright summery red lip color to bind the whole look together.

What I Wore

Saree: Dushtu Mishti Boutique , Sreerampur, Hooghly, India
Necklace: Bought at International Trade Fair 2018, Kolkata

I hope you enjoyed the look and found some inspirations. If you have liked this look and feel inspired, then please share this post right now with your friends on Instagram and  Facebook. If you want to read our last summer post click here. Leave us a comment or two below so that we know our effort was worth it.

It’s that time of year again! The holiday season is coming in hot, which means there’s a party or gathering at every turn. It was highly requested that we share a saree look and tips to make that can make us party ready for this season. So here is a the most glamorous look of the year and with a rule book of how to party in a saree

Rule 1: Wear a rich colored but light work saree

The moment you say party in a saree, I think of a black or red simple Benarasi styled in the most outrageous way. Remember to choose your saree wisely as you don't want to look like a Christmas tree yourself. So lighter work sarees are always convenient for the comfort and also look of the event. I had this red benarasi in my wardrobe an was all ready to grab the onlookers attention. It had rich work on its border and anchal and was perfectly made for the occassion.

Rule 2: Be bold on your choices for blouse

Ditch the usual matching blouse, pair with a contrast blouse, pullover , crop-top, jacket etc. Or if you want to style like I did, pair the saree with a bold stylish blouse that amps up the oomph factor in the look. This sleeveless deep neck silk blouse had a cute bow at the back and aptly made the look all the more stylized.

Rule 3: Accessorize rightly

Accessories make or break a look. So put as much thought into them as you put while choosing the saree. Based on accessories you can dress up or down a look. As in this look I have paired with statement gold 4 lahari necklace, smaller earrings, chur and a statement ring  and made the whole appearance gorgeous and rich depending on the setting of the party I was attending. You can go for a lighter version too with only statement earrings and no necklace.

Rule 4: Keep your manes manageable

You surely don't want to feel "when can i go back home" if you are in a hot and happening holiday party. So make sure your hair listens to you. you can keep your locks open or in a bun if they are tamable. Also listen to your outfit, like what goes with it. I had put up my hair in a bun with with red roses adorning it. Roses are in trend in hairstyles now  days, you see celebs like Priyanka Chopra, Anoushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone sporting them with style. Try them this winter and your look will be enhanced immensely.

I hope this will help amp up your holiday style for those all of the fun parties you’ll be attending this season! If you want to revisit our party look from last winter click here. If you like the post please do like, comment and share it. Your words of encouragement keeps us going. Please do follow us on  Facebook and Instagram for latest updates on the blog.